Seven-day certainty may not be a trial

The numbers who took advantage of the trial week in July were very low.

Half-empty boats and planes brought a few hundred people who were quick enough off the mark to take advantage.

If this was the demand after months of confinement it hardly seemed worth it to continue.

However, the widespread disappointment when the trial was brought to an abrupt end without a valid conclusion painted a different picture.

Islanders had taken notice and did value the idea. Many just had not been able to take advantage of it in the given period or assumed the trial would be a success.

A week’s isolation is not easy, but it is much more palatable than a whole fortnight locked behind doors.

With more notice and certainty islanders might be more tempted to leave the island. Knowing it is not a trial they can book that two-week holiday to the UK or beyond and plan to work from home for a week on their return.

Nor is a week’s isolation out of the question for visiting family. A week of jigsaws and Netflix is much more tolerable when it comes with the immediate prospect of time on a sunny beach with loved ones.

Hopefully, the shorter period of isolation will also convince even the most reckless of people arriving back in the island to play by the rules.

With the prospect of a hefty fine for any transgressions it surely makes sense to stay indoors for the week and avoid the risk of being spotted.

Of course, Monday will concern as many people as it pleases. The probability of someone infected getting through the seven-day test may be low, but it does exist. How comfortable will vulnerable islanders be to sit next to someone at work they know has returned from the UK or beyond just eight or nine days’ earlier?

As usual with Covid-19, there are no complete answers. The unknowns will always outweigh the knowns.